Does Homework Help Close The Achievement Gap Between Students From Low-Income Families And Their More Advantaged Peers?

The achievement gap within education is a much-discussed topic within society. Schools are seen as providing equal opportunity to students despite their socio economic background. However, this concept comes under question under further examination; students that come from high-income background tend to perform far better than those who come from low-income backgrounds.

Many solutions have been proposed to close this achievement gap between students of different socio economic background, and one such solution is to give out further homework. However, just giving out homework does not always tend to close the achievements gap.

Types Of Homework

Studies have seen that simple handing out more homework will not solve the problem of the achievement gap. Students that come from high earning families can simple hire a top-notch homework solver to assist them with their work.

They are also able to hire the best tutors available to help them overcome any difficulties that they may be facing in school. Furthermore, those from well off backgrounds also usually attend high performing school, whether private of public, and are able to further themselves through this simple advantage.

Teachers need to focus on giving out homework that encompasses several traits that can become beneficial for those who are from poorer backgrounds, as there are many advantages that students from richer backgrounds have.

Interactive

One of the best ways to ensure that homework can close the achievement gap is to make it more interactive. Students from high socio economic backgrounds can hire the best tutors to help with homework, which is simply not a possibility for those from poorer families.

Hiring such tutors can keep such students more motivated as they know that their parents have invested money in them, along with the tutors themselves being good a motivating students.

To overcome this advantage, teachers should hand out engaging homework that the child deems fun or exciting to do. Those from poorer backgrounds usually have less support from their families in terms of schoolwork, and so it is largely dependent on the student themselves to be motivated to do homework.

Ways in which homework can be made more engaging is by having students do research that involves them going out of the house, or by having them explore, for example, new technologies.

Monitoring

As mentioned previously, one of the main advantages that students from rich backgrounds have is that renowned tutors can teach them. To make up for this advantage, teachers should closely monitor their students.

Providing incentives for students to complete their homework is another good way to close the achievement gap. When a student thinks that ‘I can do my homework for money’ they will be more likely to complete their work to a high standard.

As you can see, homework can be used as mean to close the achievement gap that presents itself in education. However, the homework should have several qualities for it to be effective in narrowing the achievement gap presents itself in our society. Homework that is engaging and interactive is far more likely to achieve this goal.

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